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When did Lenin die? When was he removed from business of government?
1924. 1922
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When did Lenin write his testament "letter to the party congress"?
Christmas 1922
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Quote Lenin's testament which shows his doubts over Stalin and commendment over Trotsky.
"Trotsky...is personally perhaps the most capable man in the present C.C…I propose to the comrades that a way be found to remove Stalin from that post…”
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What evidence is there that Lenin was against stalin before his death? (also quote Robert Conquest)
- Stalin's wife (Lenin's secretary) informed stalin of Lenin's warms correspondence to Trotsky. They were working on plans to restore democracy in the party.
- Robert Conquest “One of Lenin’s secretaries told Trotsky that Lenin was now preparing ‘a bomb’ against Stalin; and Kamenev learned from another of the secretaries that Lenin had decided ‘to crush Stalin politically’”.
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What phrase did Stalin repeat in his speech during Lenin's funeral?
“We vow to thee Comrade Lenin, that we shall honourably fulfil this commandment”
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Name the contenders for leadership in 1924. Who lead the right wing, and the left?
- TROTSKY (left wing)
- Zinoviev and Kamenev were moderately left winged.
- BUKHARIN (right wing)
- Rykov and Tomsky were moderately right winged.
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When did Sverdlov die? How did it benefit Stalin?
March 1919. Sverdlov opposed Stalin, after he died, stalin was appointed head of workers and peasants inspectorate
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When did Lenin put Stalin in charge of the Orgburo which controlled party organisation?
May 1919
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When was Stalin appointed general secretary in charge of general organisation?
1922
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What did Sukhanov, the diarist of the revolution, comment about Stalin in 1917?
What happened to Sukhanov later?
- “grey blur which flickered obscurely and left no trace.”
- But stalin had his revenge as Sukhanov died in 1940 in the camps
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Why did some party members doubt Trotsky?
he was an ex-Menshivik who only joined in 1917.
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Other than the October revolution, how did Lev Kamenev get into conflict with Lenin?
opposed the 1917 April Theses
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How did Bukharin come into conflict with Lenin?
1920-1, criticised Trotsky and Lenin's trade union controversy and he'd led left wing opposition against the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
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Who was Alexei Rykov?
Chairman of the Vesenkha (supreme economic council) 1918
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Who was Mikhail Tomsky?
1918 Charmain of the central council of trade unions
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Why did many party members fear Trotsky would take up the leadership as dictator?
he was commander of the Red Army and he'd an arrogant manner
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What did Revisionist J.N. Westwood say about Stalin's unplanned tactics to his rise to power?
“it is unlikely that he followed a long-term plan. He did not need to, he could stand back and watch his rivals dig their own graves”
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How did Stalin's party position in 1924 help him rise to power?
- Party secretary: control business, information, discussions of party
- Head of Orgburo and the Secretariat: controlled appointments of reponsibility in party structure (party secretaries from regional/local party)Some Party secretaries (e.g. Ukraine) were powerful enough to decide how party members voted
- control of party organisation: influence selection of delegates sent to annual party congress where issues/policies were decided. This accounts for Trotsky's hostile reception at conferences and why Zinoviev and kamenev sought Stalin's alliance.
- Control of party membership: Stalin supervised the 'Lenin Enrolment'. Chose less intellectual membership which Stalin's nationalism appealed to. Party membership doubled to 1m from 1924-5
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Summarize briefly (DATES) how Stalin rose to power
- 1. 1924 Lenin's funeral
- 2. May 1924 Lenin's Testament
- 3. 1924, joined left (Zinoviev and Kamenev).
- 4. 1925, Stalin joins right (Bukharin) "Socialism in One Country" fitted NEP. 1926, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky were accused of factionalism, expelled in 1927.
- 5. Stalin attacks right (Bukharin). 1929, Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov removed from Politburo
- 6. Dec 1929 (his bday), Stalin becomes leader of USSR
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How did Trotsky counter the Anti-Trotsky campaign of 1924? How did this benefit Stalin?
attacked them in his article 'Lessons of October'. Made Stalin look like a peaceful person
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When was Zinoviev and Kamenev removed from the Politburo? Why?
What did they do in 1925 against Stalin?
- July 1926. tried to get party masses to organise demonstrations in Moscow, accused of factionalism.
- 14th party congress 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev called for a vote of no confidence in Stalin. They lost votes because Stalin had control of the delegates
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What did C.Ward comment about Socialism in one country which showed Stalin's practical character?
“socialism in one country at least had the merit of describing things as they really were”.
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What did E.H. Carr say that implied that Trotsky was not a natural leader?
“he had no talent for leadership among equals. He could not establish his authority…”.
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How much did factory output increase during the NEP?
How much did cereal production increase?
- 1920-3, it almost doubled.
- 1920-3, cereal production increased 23%
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How many private traders were in Moscow 2 years after the NEP?
25000
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Quote Kamenev and R.Conquest in proving Stalin's scheming character.
- According to Bukharin in a secret meeting with Kamenev in 1928 he described Stalin as an “unscrupulous intriguer…who sacrifices everything else to the preservation of power”.
- R. Conquest:“Stalin outmaneuvered a series of opponents”
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With Stalin's switching from Left to Right, it seemed he was switching for the mainstream opinions of the population. Quote I. Deutscher's saying that supports this.
“He carefully followed the course of debate to see what way the wind was blowing…He was therefore always agreeable to the majority”
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Trotsky undermined Stalin. Quote Deutscher's opinion which supports this.
“Trotsky refrained from attacking Stalin because he felt secure…It seemed to Trotsky almost a bad joke that Stalin...should be his rival”
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